Persecution – Sermon Illustration Ideas

Unshakable Faith

Difficult Times, Following Jesus, Persecution, Suffering, Take Up Your Cross

Have you ever made a commitment—or recommitment—to follow God and put him first in your life, only to find that life gets harder, not…

The Church And The Storm

Distress, Opposition, Persecution, Storms, The Church

Lamar Williamson illustrates Mark 4:35–41: “The corporate dimension of this text’s (Mark 4:35–41) significance is embodied in an early Christian symbol adopted by the…

“They Began To Laugh”

Chinese, Comedian, Cultures, Francis Chan, God's Perspective, Laugh, Persecution, Purpose, Purpose of the Church, The Church, They Began To Laugh

Persecution is in the eye of the beholder. In this Francis Chan interview, he shares the different Christian cultures of American and Chinese Christianity….

Son Of Hope

Criminal, David Berkowitz, God's Saving Grace, Grace, Love, Lover Our Enemies, Paul, Persecuter, Persecution, Prison, Prisoner, Redemption, Repentance, Salvation, Saul, Shooter, Shooting, Son of Hope, Son of Sam

The grace and love of Christ can still change a persecutor of Christians, as with Saul who became Paul, to the vilest of sinners,…

Impossible Survival

Bomb, Colombia, Explosion, Impossible Survival, Paul, Persecution, Redemption, Repentance, Salvation, Saul, True Repentance

The true story of a modern-day persecutor that found salvation. “Everybody thought he was dead. He simply had to be dead. Nobody could have…

Tested And Proven

1 Peter 3:7, 1 Peter 4:12, 1 Peter 5:10, Attitude, Challenges, Endurance, Faith, Fire, genuine, Hope, James 1:12, James 1:2-3, James 5:10, Job 23:10, Persecution, Purity, Refinement, Refining, Romans 5:3-5, Romans 8:18, Suffering, Tests, Trial

Our faith is not only tested, but it is tested to the point of being proven genuine. Persecution and suffering may feel like they…

Dedication

1 John 3:13, 1 Peter 5:8, Acts 14:22, Acts 4:27-29, Advocacy, Civil Rights, Conviction, Dedication, Freedom, Imprisonment, Jail, John 15:18, Persecution, Protest, Suffering

When Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned in Birmingham for non-violent protests, he wrote the famous “Letter From Birmingham Jail” in reply to southern…

Blessed Are The Persecuted

1 Peter 4:12-14, 2 Timothy 3:12, Church, Eternity, Faith, John 15:18, Love, Luke 6:22, Matthew 5:10, Persecution, Perseverance, Religious Freedom, Remembrance, Shelter, Suffering

In a review from Christianity Today on the book They Say We Are Infidels: On the Run from ISIS with Persecuted Christians in the…

Restricted Faith

2 Corinthians 3:12, Acts 28:31, Acts 4:29, Acts 4:31, Boldness, Ephesians 3:12, Evangelism, Fear, Government, Laws, Oppression, Persecution, Privilege, Religious Freedom, Triumph

In summer 2016, Russia passed a packet of laws that more tightly restricted missionary activity and evangelism. Russian Christians fear enforcement of those laws….

Repay Evil With Love

1 Peter 3:8-16, Colossians 3:13, Do Good to Those Who Hurt You, Ephesians 4:32, Evil, Forgiveness, Love, Matthew 18:21-22, Matthew 5:44, Matthew 6:14-15, Persecution, Pray for Your Enemies, Repay Evil, Revenge

Christ has called us to love one another and to repay evil with good. During the civil rights movement, many African Americans, inspired by Martin…

Brother Yun

Acts 4:31, Boldness, Evangelism, Faith, Faithfulness, Hebrews 13:16, Joshua 1:9, Persecution, Perseverance, Proverbs 28:1, Purity, Romans 12:1-2, Sacrifice, Saint, Witness

“Brother Yun is a Christian missionary who was saved at age 16 and felt called to witness in different parts of China. He was…

Persecuted Believer

1 John 3:13, 1 Peter 4:12-14, 2 Corinthians 12:10, 2 Timothy 3:12, Evangelism, God's Faithfulness, Hate, John 15:18, Luke 6:22, Matthew 10:20-21, Persecution, Stand Firm

Historians refer to the American Civil War as a war of “brother against brother” because family members were often on opposite sides of an irreconcilable…